𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 | 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗹𝗲𝗲

𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔲𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯: 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔣

"hana, sooman said he had to talk to us and the others. go get ready". mark said as he gently patted her hair trying to get the tired girl to get up. hana nodded as she thought about what they had to discuss. the comeback? collaborations?

~

"irene unni, you go first! you know he favors you most" haechan comemnted as the four pairs were crowding the hallway as they waited for someone to go in first to take initiative.

"no hana, you go first! i'm pretty sure he prefers you". irene whined not wanting to open the door because she was overly nervous.

"ah okay okay" hana said, taking a deep breath then as she reached for the handle, a hand from beside her grabbed it first and held the door. as she looked for reassurance, she found herself look up to see mark's calm face while he held the door for her. he mouthed quietly, "you got this. don't worry, i'm here" and with that she strutted in giving sooman a casual bow and her normal greeting.

"yo yo mr. sooman!! how are you?" hana said as the girls giggled at her overly casual manner with their boss. as the boys were shocked at hana's manner before they shot her worried glances while sooman sipped his coffee and nodded his head.

"good hana, that may not be the best greeting but i'll let it slide since you're working hard. you all can have a seat." sooman said as everyone sat on the L shaped couch waiting for sooman to start this unexpected meeting.

"may i ask why we were brought in?" johnny tried to calmly ask despite his jittery hands.

"yeah, well i've been speaking to the company's newly hired psychologist and she seems fairly familiar to some of you, but she has managed to convince me to alter a rule in this entertainment company that affects you eight." with that being said sooman grabbed his phone, dialing a few buttons before speaking.

"please bring her in". he demanded as a hana and mark immediately got up with shocked expressions written all over their faces.

"doctor dahyun?!" hana pointed before running over to her and bringing her into a big bear hug.

"hi hana, sit down, we have a lot to discuss about" dahyun whispered before ushering the girl to sit in her original seat next to mark as dahyun stood next to sooman.

"as some of you may not know, my name is dr. dahyun. i'm the newly hired psychologist for all artists under SM entertainment. if you ever need something regarding mental health or just your health in general, feel free to contact me." dahyun introduced herself before setting down some business cards on the coffee table.

"what did she convince you to change mr. sooman?" irene asked nervously as everyone collectively attempting to think about what she could do to change anything in this hard industry.

"before we get to that, don't you eight have something to explain to me?" sooman interjected as he heard some news from staff about things going on with these eight in particular making the public assume things and bring them eight to light and more in demand from the industry.

"uh, what do you mean?" yeri asked for clarification in case he found out about them or if he is referring to something else.

"what are these articles about? i've been getting a surplus of emails asking for sponsorships, job opportunities, and more just for you eight? isn't it a little bit fishy that they ask for specific pairs? like taeyong and irene to do a magazine photoshoot that is focused on idol leaders? johnny and yeri are asked for a web drama series? soyeon and haechan to be possibly be a part of a drama's ost? while i'm getting even more demand for mark and hana to create a subunit? does anyone else slightly see a pattern? so are you planning to confess or will i need to pry it out of you all?" sooman seriously said showing articles upon articles, pulling up videos and suspicions of possible relationships amongst the eight while he also showed emails of job offers that the eight exclusively got due to their popularity. for a second the eight were appalled. unsure of how to respond and in what tone. they noticed how sooman didn't seem angry, but just wanted the truth.

"if we tell you the truth, will you punish us?" soyeon quietly said as she fiddled with the bracelet haechan gave her as a birthday gift knowing she couldn't just grab his hand out of no where. it would blow their cover.

"it would be better if you told me yourself, if i have to pry the truth out myself, i would be more disappointed than i already am." sooman interrogated further as he stared at the letters of offers he got for them to also be on western shows in america and throwing the papers on the coffee table for them to see. they knew they had already been caught, it would be up to them if they wanted. suddenly the girls noticed something. it felt almost as if they were in slow motion, they looked at their leader in search of comfort and an answer while irene, knew only one solution. she took a deep breath before reaching for taeyong's hand and getting up from her seat and looking straight at her boss. it was her last ditch effort to protect her babies.

"taeyong and i are together mr. sooman. i assumed that over time it would look more obvious over time. we're all in similar situations in terms of our relationships but, if you are upset and want to kick us out for being in a relationship, i would rather leave." irene voiced her genuine opinion as taeyong nodded in agreement and solidarity in her statement.

"mr. sooman, with all due respect, yeri and i are together as well, and honestly, i can't say that i knew this was gonna happen. but, i want you to know that we're happy and we would hope that you understand that we won't let this relationship get in the way of our work. as irene said, we stand in agreement, if you plan to kick us out, i would rather leave right this minute". johnny said as yeri nodded quickly showing she agreed and that she wouldn't allow her leader to take the fall for all of them.

"i agree mr. sooman, i may be the youngest here along with hana, but i believe we're mature enough to hold ourselves. to put it short and simply, soyeon and i will leave as well if you plan to punish us or not accept us." haechan said reassuringly.

"mr. sooman, i hate to be part of this big bandwagon but, i guess it's only right for me to explain my side as well. you knew coming in, when you selected me, that i came in with talent but also a past filled with infirmities, anxiety, and depression. but you took that risk because my talent exceeded that. you trusted my talent would take me places, look where i am now. i couldn't be happier, and i'm grateful. we all are. without you trusting us and our abilities, we wouldn't be where we are today. but, along the way, i met these crazy 23 boys that give me endless life. they literally brighten my day, giving me the strength to move to the next. but there's one specific person that truly impacted my life. you can all guess who it is, it's mark. it's awkward for me to say this all but, mr. sooman, without mark i wouldn't be the person i am today. he stood by my side no matter the weather, my mood swings, my breakdowns, my performances, my nightmares, my doctor's appointment, he was there literally every step of the way and i refuse to allow you to break that. as johnny said, with all due respect, i will leave as well, if you don't approve of us. because they're my family. and i love them" hana said as she wiped away tears that was all over her face. she felt mark gently rub her back as the girls were in emotional states as well. knowing they were giving in their entire career to just be happy with one another. after a couple minutes of crying and sniffling from everyone, sooman sighed.

"what makes you think i would sacrifice my talented artists just because of a relationship?" sooman said as he looked up to see the tear stained faces of everyone.

"well, if you had let me explained, you all wouldn't be so sad and mellow. well, dahyun promised me that she will properly take care of relationships and make sure that everything is in check so i was planning to change the dating policy for our entertainment, into you all are allowed to have relationships, as long as you all are comfortable with occasional check-ins from dahyun. almost like a check-up every so often so we can make sure the relationship isn't getting overly in the way of your work. with dahyun working here now, we can implement more freedom for you all, as i said, as long as you're fine with checkups." sooman finished up as he gave a small smile to everyone.

"thank you!!" haechan got up happily and rushing to give his boss a hug and with that being said they ended up in a big hug.

"wait can we also do those projects you talked about? at least some?" mark curiously asked thinking how cool it would be for everyone to intermixed and do activities together.

"of course, but most importantly, have fun. that's my main concern" sooman mentioned and with that being said, everyone looked foward to other possibilities.